After the Yule Ball
by Celthala
Summary: What really happened between Ron and Hermione, while Harry was talking to Cedric.


Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.  
  
After the Yule Ball  
  
Christmas, Christmas was supposed to be a great holiday. It was supposed to be full of fun, presents, food and frolic. This year wasn't so much like Ron had anticipated. The day started well. He got some great presents, including his regular Weasley sweater knitted by his mother. He had given it to Dobby the house elf, to go with his ridicules miss matched socks he loved to wear. Ron thought it would in a strange way match with the theme of the rest of his outfit. He spent the better part of the day hanging out with his friends, and doing regular things, but the day that had started out so well turned out so far to be a terrible night.  
  
He sat at a table in the back of the hall, still feeling silly in his maroon velvet robe, half in conversation with Harry about Giants and half watching Hermione dance by him with Krum. Every time he caught her eye as she passed she sent a scathing look his way. She was livid at him, and in a way he didn't blame her. He didn't know why he had been so mean to her tonight. He liked Krum, almost worshiped him. "He could play Quidditch really well, so he must be an ok guy," Ron thought to himself. But for some reason ever since he saw Hermione with him he couldn't help but want to poke him in the eye with his wand every time he walked by. He had said some pretty terrible things to Hermione, and he didn't know why. He just blurt them out without thinking twice. Just said what was in his mind at that very moment. He didn't want to hurt her; he didn't want her to be mad at him. After all she had been his best friend for several months when he and Harry weren't talking. They spent a lot of time together during that time that he had been so stupid about Harry, and he got close to her, closer than he had ever been to a girl anyway.  
  
When Ron started thinking about it, he seemed to have a way of saying just the right thing to drive the people he cared about most away in a rather efficient manner. "I guess that's what they call immaturity" Ron thought to him self. That must be his problem. He was always good for a laugh, always knew the right thing to say to be funny, but when it came to really expressing his feelings, he all of a sudden turned to a five year old. Maybe it was time he started to grow up a little.  
  
He saw Krum and Hermione dance by again, and caught her glance again, she squinted a look of pure hatred at him, turned her nose up at Ron, and then turning her eyes back to Krum she laughed a forced fake laugh, acting like she thought what Krum was saying was actually funny. He thought for a minute that he wanted to put a hex on Krum, give him two left feel literally, so he would fall all over her, and make a fool of him self and Hermione, but then he felt bad. He didn't want to do any more to ruin her night. Hadn't he done enough? He sat back in his chair and folded his arms trying to look as unaffected as possible. But the truth of the matter is, he wanted to apologize, he wanted to make it right again. He really felt bad, and stupid, and lonely. Lonely? Why lonely? That didn't make any sense, Harry was sitting right there next to him, stayed with him most of the Ball. He was perfectly content to ditch his date to be Ron's friend. He seemed to know that Ron needed to not be alone tonight. Even if Ron wouldn't have admitted it.  
  
Before long the ball was over. The Weird Sisters had finished their last song, and the hall started to clear out. Ron and Harry walked slowly out into the entrance hall. There was a small group of people lingering around in the hall talking and saying their goodnights. Ron and Harry caught site of Hermione and Krum. They were facing each other and talking in a hushed tone. Then Krum bowed and watched as Hermione walked away from him toward the Griffindor common room. Ron poised himself to send Hermione what he thought would be a healing half smile, but she flashed him a cold glare and swept past him up the marble stair case. They turned to follow after her, but were stopped short when they heard some one call out,"Hey.. Harry!"  
  
It was Cedric Diggory. Harry answered him rather coldly but Ron didn't notice, He was too wrapped up in thought, hoping what Cedric wanted wouldn't take to long, as he watched him run up the stairs to meet Harry. He really wanted to catch Hermione before she went to the dorm. When Cedric reached Harry he gave Ron a sideways look, giving the direct message that what he wanted was for Harry's ears only. Ron found that rather rude, and was put out for a second, but as he turned to go, he realized this was his chance to catch up with Hermione, and he ran up the stairs after her.  
  
He was running up the last flight of stairs before the long hall way to the fat lady's portrait, when he spotted Hermione's periwinkle robes fluttering behind her as her pace had almost quickened to a run. Ron had caught up to Hermione by the time she had almost reached the portrait, and breathlessly said, "Hermione. Wait".  
  
She didn't even turn to him but, but replied, "I'm really not in the mood right now.. fairy lights." The fat lady started from sleep, and swung open, but her friend, Vi didn't stir. Ron entered the common room right behind her.  
  
Finally starting to catch his breath, he said again, "Wait" as she had started across the deserted common room toward the girl's dormitory.  
  
Hermione stopped, and flew around to meet Ron's eyes. Her Robes flowed in circles around her as she turned, then slowly billowed to rest around her ankles. Pieces of her hair were falling out of the once pristine twist that adorned her head, and her eyes reflected the fire in the fire place. She stood there a moment fluming at Ron, then answered impatiently, "What!"  
  
Ron had been set back a little by how striking she looked in the fire glow, but he regained his composure, and cleared his throat, and stumbled over the words, "I'm sorry".  
  
"What?" she curtly replied.  
  
"I'm sorry" Ron said a little clearer, "I didn't mean to."  
  
"You didn't meant to embarrass me," she interrupted, "You didn't meant to be so rude to Viktor; you didn't mean to totally ruin what should have been a glorious night. This was my first ball Ron, it should have been magical, and I don't mean with wands and spells, but a different kind of magical, a kind that you wouldn't understand" She paused then continued with a crack in her voice as she looked down to the floor. "Why did you do it? Why did you say those things? What made you feel like being that horrible to me; I thought you were my friend."  
  
"I am" Ron stated glad to get a word in, "I was just. I was feeling. well..." Ron continued, nervously watching his foot trace circles on the floor in front of him.  
  
"What?" Hermione said looking intolerantly at Ron, "you were feeling what?"  
  
Ron looked up at her to see a single tear stream down her cheek. As if he hadn't felt bad before, now she was crying, and it was all because of him. He looked around the room quickly to see if there was anyone hiding in the chairs around the room, then took a step closer to her and said in a softer voice only audible to Hermione who was only about a foot from Ron, "I was feeling jealous. I didn't like seeing you with another guy." He searched her eyes for some sort of response to what he had just said. The flicker of the fire still reflected in her eyes, and on her face with a warm soft glow. Ron reached up and softly wiped the tear from her cheek, relieved to see Hermione's gaze soften at his confession.  
  
She looked softly at him for a second, and taking her wand out of her robe, held it straight out in front of her and said "Visious Covertium." A Small glowing bubble flowed from the end of her wand and slowly became all but invisible as it flew across the room and went through the wall between the long hallway and the common room.  
  
Ron was still watching the bubble flow through the wall when he felt Hermione take his hand. He turned suddenly to see her looking tenderly at him. He hadn't seen her look so soft before, so pretty. He felt a flutter in his stomach as she softly entangled her fingers with his and said, "I didn't know you felt that way Ron. You certainly don't show it."  
  
"This isn't exactly easy for me, you know," Ron replied, feeling a little less nervous since Hermione hadn't just blushed and ran up the stairs at his confession. "Maybe it's from having five brothers, makes me incapable of being sensitive."  
  
Hermione smiled. "Ron, since we are confessing things, I've got one too." She paused and took a deep breath and looked down at her fingers as she nervously rubbing a fold of her robe between them. "You know how we were spending all that time together, when I was trying to get you and Harry to be friends again?"  
  
Ron nodded, thinking it was endearing to see Hermione obviously nervous and stammering. She was always the cool, calm, mature one of the bunch.  
  
"Well" She continued nervously, "I really came to care a lot for you. I so hoped that you would have asked me to the Ball. I really wanted to go with you, then when He asked me, and you didn't even seem interested, I didn't know what else to do but to say yes to Krum"  
  
Ron trembled slightly at her confession, and he could feel the fluttering get stronger as he took a piece of hair that was hanging in her eyes and put it back out of her face just as her eyes met his with a long soft gaze of admiration. The gaze was broken as Hermione leaned up to him like she was going to tell him something in his ear. Instinctively he leaned down to listen, and felt a burst of energy shoot up his spine as he felt her softly kiss his cheek, and gently squeeze his hand that was still intertwined with hers. She pulled away to look into his eyes, and Ron trembled inside feeling her warm breath on his face as he looked back in her eyes not sure what to say. She closed her eyes, and moved in toward him again. This time he didn't lean his ear to her, he gasped with anticipation just before he felt her press her soft lips against his. His heart pounded in his chest, and he could feel his stomach flip with excitement, as tingles shot up his neck, into his head that made his hair stand on end, then a calming warmth passed over him, he relaxed, closed his eyes and melted into her warm, soft kiss. A feeling of floating came over him, and his knees felt weak as he slowly moved his hand around her waist and held her even closer to him. His breath caught in exhilaration when he felt her put her arm around his neck and run her fingers through the back of her hair. His head was incapable of thought as he lingered lost in Hermione's sweet soft lips for what seemed like an eternity.  
  
Then with a start Hermione pulled out of their embrace, a look of shock on her face "Harry's coming up the Hallway," She said in a frantic whisper.  
  
"So," Said Ron, wondering what was so scary about Harry, as he looked at the entrance to the common room just when Hermione's spy bubble floated back into the room and dissipated half way across the room with a flick of her wand.  
  
"I don't want him to know about any of this. Can we please keep this a secret?" She pleaded with him.  
  
"Why" Ron said abruptly "what's the big deal? Why can't Harry know?"  
  
"I don't want him to be distracted. I want him to do well in the tournament. I don't want him to feel like a third wheel with us, or to have anything happen that might take his mind of the task at hand," She said hurriedly as she straightened her robes and stepped back away from Ron.  
  
Ron didn't say anything at first but he did understand her reasoning. He was worried about Harry doing well in the tournament as well, and although it was going to be hard not to share something this huge in his life with his best friend, he said,"Oh, Ok." He would just have to relive his first kiss over again in his head to keep it fresh in his memory so he could tell Harry when this was all over.  
  
He heard Harry yell, "Fairy Lights!" from the outside of the portrait and as it swung open, Hermione whispered, "Follow my lead." To which he responded with a nod, not imagining what was coming next.  
  
He was surprised to see a terrible scowl come over Hermione's face, and just as Harry entered the room she spat at him as loud as she could, "Well, if you don't like it, you know what the solution is don't you?"  
  
Ron puzzled at the question, and the direct contrast to how things were just moments ago, gave her nasty look right back and replied in a yell, "Oh Yeah?. What's that?"  
  
"Next time there's a ball ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!" she yelled at him, then winked as she turned away from Harry and stormed up the stairs to the girl's dorm.  
  
Ron was astonished for a second, thinking she had let something slip a little. He gaped for a moment not knowing how to fix the beans she almost spilled. Then he turned to Harry and tried to look as bewildered as possible, and sputtered out a cover up, "Well. Well. That just proves. Completely missed the point."  
  
Harry didn't say anything in response, he looked a little preoccupied. Ron followed Harry up the spiral staircase to the boy's dorm, with a content look on his face, as he was reliving the moment he shared with Hermione, now he knew exactly what she meant by magical. If Harry had seen Ron's face at that moment, he would have known something was up. 


End file.
